fandomhigh | Sex And Candy, Wednesday, Second Period

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sex and candy

Sex And Candy, Wednesday, Second Period

"Transformations are something that most of us here on Fandom know a little bit about," Cindy said wryly once class started. "Whether it turning into an animal for a few days or spending a weekend as someone entirely different--" and that was the closest she was going to get to talking about the other weekend, thanks much "--it seems to happen fairly often to people on this island. Of course, such transformations have their root in history and myth as well, dating long before the island was a school and fairy tales were written down."

She held up a stack of handouts for her TAs to pass out ~~if they were there~~. It appeared to be a heavy reading day. "Greek mythology is full of such stories, most of them acting as an origin story of some kind. Either out of punishment or pity, a god turns a mortal into something new and that is how we end up with spiders, nightingales, laurel leaves and the like. Other times, it is used as trickery, to teach a mortal a lesson, or to hide improper activities from the eyes of other gods, as in the case of most of Zeus's transformations. Sometimes, it even happens accidentally, as is the case of Tiresias."

"But transformations extend beyond mythology--certainly beyond just Greek mythology; it's everywhere, especially the Celts--and into the realm of fairy tales as well. Often it is used as a punishment, The Frog Prince and Snow White and Rose Red being two such stories that use that trope. In yet other cases, people are transformed after their death, so that they can bring about the punishment of their murderers."

"As for transforming back, well, that gets trickier. As a punishment, the spell can either be broken by the actions of another, like the sister in The Six Swans or by learning the intended lesson and changing for the better, like the Beast in the story about the monster and the beautiful maiden. In some tales, only death can change the character back into the human form, like the fox in The Golden Bird, or the burning of the animal skin, as in Hans My Hedgehog."

Cindy leaned back on her desk and looked out at the students. "So, transformation has clearly been a concern even of people who don't live on the island. While most of them seem to be cases of involuntary transformations, under what circumstances could you see the choice being voluntary? Let's discuss."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not yourself!

Warren Worthington III

Dolf Wega

Raven

Mercy Thompson

Squall Leonhart

Claudia Donovan

Sov Thade Tage em Ereb

Elphaba Thropp

Cally

Ramona Flowers

Alex Aaron

Billy Kaplan

Dana Scully

Dave Nelson

K-Mart

Take notes, leaf through all the handouts and the stories. Isn't it good to know you're not alone?

Warren listened to the lecture today with a slightly wry smile on his lips.

Yeah, he knew a thing or two about this topic even before coming to Fandom, really.

Yeah, well, growing up coyote in a werewolf pack with the fae out to the piblic, made the idea of transformations not such a strange thing to Mercy/

As the lecture touched on involuntary transformations as punishment, Firekeeper couldn't help but think of the maimalodalu, Plik especially, who'd been cursed by the wickedness of human sorcery.

Have you been transformed by the island yet? Can you think of a connection between what you were transformed into and who you are? Was there ever a time it came in handy? Was there ever a time it was really bad?

Share as much as you feel comfortable with.

Warren buried his face in his hand, just for a moment. Oh, man.

"Yeah, I've been changed by the island a few times," he shared. "There were connections pretty much every time. A future version of myself, some guy who shared my first name... A... um... a little bird."

That last one was always kind of embarrassing. It was the obvious one.

"The bird thing had pretty terrible timing. It was when the goblins were taking over the island, and my girlfriend had been kidnapped. There's not really much you can do about something like that when you're a budgie."

"I have been turned into a boy twice," Raven said with a frown. "And my younger and older selves. And once into a bird -- a raven." Yes, making that connection was difficult.

Given that she was not admitting that she was a walker and could shift into a coyote? "No. I haven't been transformed by the island."

"I have been male," Firekeeper shared. "And a child. That is it."

"Younger. Older. Female. Crazy. But always still a version of myself, I think. I haven't been an animal yet."

"I've been a rabbit," Sov said. This might have been embarrassing at home, but it seemed to be common enough here so they didn't mind.

"I can't really see a connection. Although the timing wasn't too bad."

"Like Firekeeper, I've only been turned male and into a child," Cally said. "The first was...awkward." See her not looking at Dolf as she said that? Yes.

"I have been transformed to be physically male, and to be a small gecko," Elphaba said. "I would not say either was convenient, though transforming my body to a different gender was not inconvenient. Being a small lizard was more of a unique experience. It made me appreciate animals even more so."

"I haven't been transformed," Billy said, trying not to look nervous at the idea that it was a given that it would happen eventually. "I can't imagine how it'd be handy, to be honest."

Other fairy tales have the heroes voluntarily choosing to become some other creature. Why? What reasons can you hypothesize for doing so? If you could choose, what would you turn into and what do you think you would gain from it?

Pair up and discuss.

"I did not entirely mind turning into my namesake," Raven said. Better that than a boy, please. "It was interesting to physically fly for a change, rather than merely my soul. But I could not talk, which was frustrating."

"I'd imagine it could be pretty handy to transform into something else," Mercy said. "The fae do it when it suits them. And if you had to get somewhere fast without a car or into something really small... why not?"

"A Beast's shape can offer many advantages over a human one. Strength, speed, senses." A pause. "I used to think I would like a wolf's shape to go with my wolf's heart. But then I find out how such magic in my world is only possible through cruelty."

"I'm fine with the way I am," Squall answered with a shrug. "Why bother wanting to change?"

"Do you really have stories about people changing gender?" Sov asked. "Because where I'm from people do that all the time. Some people here seem really bothered about that. Other than that, I don't see why not, if it's only for a short time. I wouldn't want to be stuck as something else though. Or turned into an animal and hunted and killed. Or accidentally eat someone turned into an animal."

"I think... I think this is a question that in my case requires far more thought than I can give in a simple class session," Elphaba said.

Hopefully they're here and in their proper form.

Emma was there, and totally not an ermine at the moment. Anyone who even thought weasel-jokes would get an automatic fail for the class.

You can ask about her transformations, but she probably won't be truthful.

This be the thread for it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sex And Candy, Wednesday, Second Period

Sign in (Week 6)

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Listen to the Lecture

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Discussion Topic #1--Personal Transformations

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Discussion Topic #2--Choosing Your Transformation

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Talk to the TAs

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Talk to "Professor Perrault"

OOC